Oleaginous food package



United States Patent Metals Company, Delaware Application January 26, 1955, Serial No. 484,161 1 Claim. (Cl. 99-179) N. Y., assignor to Reynolds Richmond, Va., a corporafion of The invention relates to the packaging of oleaginous solid material, particularly dairy products such as butter, cheese, oleomargarine, and the like, and has for its object securing of a composite package including a rigid internal protective body for assembly of blocks of butter, oleomargarine, or blocks of analogous material, which will provide straight smooth surfaces at all sides and edges, which enables heat sealing of an overwrap of special character against an assembly of protective elements for the bars and consisting of two overlapped flaps of cardboard slightly spaced from the ends of the oleaginous bars by end tabs, enabling safe application of pressure and heat without affecting the oleaginous bars in any way, the rigid protective internal body of cardboard enabling wrapping the package by the special wrap tighter and closer. Furthermore, the protective cardboard body is free from tucks and therefore creating no damage to the oleaginous bars due to tuck insertion. Finally, the package lends itself to rapid production with greater economy of cost due to lack of trim or waste and the provision of straight lines of cut.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of a suitable blank from which the intermediate relatively rigid protective body for the assembled bars may be formed;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view, partly in dotted lines, showing the completed package with its overwrap, the dotted lines indicating four solid blocks within the rigid protective body and at the right-hand end of the figure indicating folds of the outer wrap;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section on line 33, Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a section through a suitable overwrap.

Referring to the drawing, the blank 4 which when brought into folded form immediately encloses the individually wrapped bars of oleaginous material, such as butter or oleomargarine, consists of a rectangular member cut from a sheet of cardboard and having longitudinal fold lines 1, the major side walls being indicated at 2, 2x, and one minor side wall being indicated at 3. The opposed minor side walls are indicated at 4, 4x and which will be overlapped when the blank is formed up into the protective body.

The blank will be folded on the two fold lines 3x so that the major side walls 2 and 2x will be spaced and opposed, whereupon the blank is folded on the lines 5 to provide the minor side walls which will be lapped. At this point the end tabs 6x will be folded inwardly at the top and bottom of the said rigid body preliminary to the folding inwardly of the flaps 6 and 7.

Assuming the major side wall 2, in the said folding operation, lies over side wall 2x, the said rigid protective member will have its flaps 6 folded downwardly over the end wall 7 first folded upwardly, or reverse folding of the flaps may be employed, and either one may overlie the other.

The package illustrated in the drawing is proportioned for four quarter-pound wrapped bars of butter, oleomargarine or the like, as indicated by the longitudinal dotted lines of Fig. 2. When said bars have been enclosed within the rigid reinforcing member, the package may safely be wrapped by high speed wrapping machines which will tightly apply, fold and heat seal a moistureproof outer wrap. The latter preferably consists of a composite sheet having a layer of foil 10, Fig. 4, to which is adhered a layer 11 of paper, the latter directly carrying a heat and pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 12. This adhesive may be of any suitable character, including wax, and in the use of the wax it is preferably covered with a layer of porous tissue through which the wax will flow for heat sealing operations upon the application of heated fold-irons of the wrapping machine applied to the end laps 8 and 9, Fig. 2, and the appropriate side lap preferably positioned opposite the abutting minor side Walls 4, 4x. In Fig. 2 the lap 8 lies over the lap 9, Whereas in Fig. 3 the laps have been reversed, the two methods of folding being equally satisfactory. in Fig. 4 the ad hesive layer 12 is indicated as an exposed rubber latex type, but any suitable heat-sensitive adhesive may be used, and preferably, as stated, a wax layer covered with porous tissue.

If desired, end flaps 6 and 7 may be cut to provide pull tabs 14.

By reason of the absence of tucks and the lack of extending tabs or ears of any kind, all walls of the rigid protective body being smooth and flat, the body is nondirectional in handling of the wrapping machine and can be inserted in the hopper of such a machine in any direction, which saves time and increases production. There is no waste in the forming of the blank, and each end adapted for heat sealing of the overwrap has two full size flaps slightly separated from the wrapped oleaginous bars by short end tabs so that there is adequate insulation.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

A hermetically sealed package and a plurality of wrapped oleaginous bars therein, said package consisting of an innermost substantially rigid cardboard protective member enclosing the wrapped bars and having two major side walls; a minor'side wall at right angles to and integral with said major side walls, two overlapped minor side walls integral with the major side walls and providing a heat sealing abutment for lapped folds of a heat sealing overwrap, the substantially rigid protective member having reversely foldable overlapped end walls, at two ends, providing sets of two ply heat sealing abutments for an overwrap, and a moisture impermeable overwrap consisting of a plurality of layers, the outermost layer being of foil and an inward layer adapted to fuse upon the application of heat and pressure and to seal the overwrap, said overwrap encompassing the cardboard protective member and with a pair of its margins mutually lapped and sealed to tightly embrace the cardboard protective member, each of the two remaining pairs of margins of the overwrap having lapped and sealed folds, one pair of said lapped folds overlying one twoply end wall of the cardboard protective member, and the second pair of said lapped folds overlying a second two-ply end wall of said protective member.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,578,066 Bolingbroke Mar. 23, 1926 2,676,106 Vogt Apr. 20, 1954 2,705,203 Heidrick et a1. Mar. 29, 1955 OTHER REFERENCES The Freezing Preservation of Foods, 1943, by D. K. Tressler, published by The Avi Publishing Co., Inc., New York, pp. 226, 227, 228 and 242. 

